A diplomatic foul of the first order against a NATO ally, Secretary of State Rice refers to the border between Turkey and Iraq as the border between Turkey and Kurdistan. While it is understandable that some might be sympathetic to the Iraqi Kurds, the fact remains that official Iraqi Kurdish newspapers refuse to recognize the sanctity of Turkey’s borders, referring to it as “North Kurdistan” as the Qamishli region of Syria as “West Kurdistan.” Masud Barzani makes little secret of the fact that his political party sells supplies to the PKK, a terrorist group responsible for more than 30,000 deaths in Turkey since 1984. It has become fashionable in Rice’s tenure to abandon allies, be it democracy activists in Egypt, Cedar Revolution activists in Lebanon, and now Turkey. It is unfortunate in the extreme. Her careless remarks bring Turkey closer to taking action on its own in Iraq, where the PKK has established bases.